INTRODUCTION

THE WPA: AN EXHIBITION features 261 books, pamphlets, ephemera,
and artworks from the collections of the Bienes Center. Many of
books and pamphlets were designed by the Works Progress
Administrations (WPA) Federal Art Project (FAP) in
collaboration with the WPAs Federal Writers Project
(FWP). Also included are: two paintings by the WPA artist Paul R.
Meltsner, one given by Florida Atlantic Universitys Library,
the other donated by Louis Freedman; two architectural models from
the Pennsylvania WPA; and several books by the Milwaukee Handicraft
Project.

The exhibition highlights 54 Florida books, pamphlets, and
ephemera and includes such unusual titles as: Broomcorn growing,
Florida seafood cookery, The Negro sings, Tung oil industry in
Florida, and Spanish land grants in Florida. Appearing for the
first time in print are three unpublished texts: History of
Broward County by Frances H. Miner; Lauderdale by
Williamson; and Port Everglades [anonymous]. A reprint of
the journal article Touring Florida Through the Federal Writers
Project is also included.

Almost all of the 257 printed pieces in the exhibition were
donated to Broward County Library in 1986 by Jean Fitzgerald, a
former officer of the U.S. Navy, a bibliophile, a former Broward
County Library Advisory Board member, and a founder of the Broward
Public Library Foundation. His original gift of books, pamphlets,
and ephemera now form the nucleus of the most important collection
owned by the Bienes Center.

As a young Naval officer, Jean Fitzgerald first became interested
in the American Guide Series by the Federal Writers
Project (FWP) while stationed in Washington, D.C. During a visit to
a Georgetown bookstore, he discovered the largest title (1,141 p.)
in the series: Washington: City and Capital. It was the
first guide he purchased. As he was assigned to different military
locations he acquired and travelled with other volumes from the
series. He eventually became interested in additional titles
published by the FWP, and largely through the efforts of Evanell
Powell-Brant, a Palm Beach, Florida, bookstore owner, he amassed the
estimated 600 titles that comprise the core of the current Bienes
Center collection.

Jean Fitzgeralds donation of the FWP material to the Bienes
Center is a perfect example of how important a seed gift
can be to the future direction and development of a rare book
library. Because of the FWP gift, one of the present collection
missions is to acquire all the FWPs published and unpublished
titles as well as items from other agencies from the WPA and similar
agencies of the New Deal period, circa 1932-42. In fact, the
collection has grown in little over 12 years from an initial group
of approximately 600 titles to the current comprehensive
research-level collection of over 1,400 items.

As demonstrated by the exhibition, the legacy left by the WPA and
the Federal Writers Project is the treasure-trove of richly
detailed publications that document life in America as it was in the
mid- to late 1930s and early 1940s. As a legacy to the residents of
Broward County, the State of Florida, and the nation, Jean
Fitzgeralds thoughtful and generous gift has helped preserve
the knowledge and experiences of that troubled yet innovative era in
U.S. history.

Special thanks are extended to Jean Fitzgerald for the 1986
donation of the WPA materials; to Margaret Bing, the Bienes Center
cataloger/curator, for her dedicated and resourceful efforts over
the years at strengthening and expanding the collection and for
helping in all stages of organizing the exhibition and writing the
catalog; to Kay Harvey and the Broward Public Library Foundation for
their continued encouragement and financial support; and to Dianne
and Michael Bienes for their unparalleled generosity in helping to
foster the love of books.